The present invention relates generally to the field of telecommunications and more specifically to directory assistance services. In particular, methods are provided for furnishing travel information to travelling telephone subscribers.
Telephone directory assistance services have been available for the past century. While improvements have been made over the decades, such systems are still poorly suited for use by telephone subscribers, particularly subscribers of mobile telephone services.
In prior art directory assistance services, a customer dials an operator and identifies the name and address of a party whose telephone number is desired. The operator then locates the number, using printed directories or a computer database, and provides the number to the customer. (The provision of the number is sometimes done by a live operator, but more typically is done with a computerized voice response unit that provides a synthesized voicing of the number.) After the customer""s inquiry has been satisfied, the connection to the operator is terminated.
While satisfactory for some customers, this arrangement is ill-suited for many wireless or mobile telephone customers. For one, such customers are usually away from their general work environments (e.g. in a vehicle), and thus may not have ready access to a pencil and paper in order to make a note of the desired number or other information provided by the directory assistance operator. Even if such materials are available, the customer may not find it convenient to interrupt other activities (e.g. driving), in order to make a note. In addition, the process of initiating a second callxe2x80x94whether to the same or a different desired partyxe2x80x94entails multiple additional manual operations. (e.g. hanging up, waiting for another dial tone, and dialing) which may be a hindrance to the customer""s other activities.
The present assignee has redressed certain of these difficulties by providing a directory assistance service that eliminates the need to make a note of the desired number or undertake a redialing exercise. Rather than voicing a customer""s desired telephone number to the customer after looking it up, a directory assistance agent (e.g., an operator) continues the call and connects the calling customer to the desired party. (The directory assistance agent may stay on the line as a conferenced party so as to provide further assistance, or may withdraw from the connection, depending on the particular implementation.) This arrangement obviates the need for the customer to make a note of the voiced number or to undertake a redialing exercise. However, if the initiated call is not completed (e.g., a xe2x80x9cbusyxe2x80x9d tone is received), or if the customer desires further directory assistance, then the customer must again connect to the directory assistance operator to obtain additional help.
In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a directory assistance service is provided which alleviates many of these drawbacks of the prior art. For example, a customer who wishes directory assistance services is connected to a directory assistance agent, perhaps an operator, who determines the destination telephone number desired by the customer. The operator then connects the customer to the destination telephone number. However, rather than dropping all further involvement with the call, in this embodiment of the present invention the connection is continually monitored for several predetermined signals issued by the customer (e.g., those which are obtained by pressing the xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9c#xe2x80x9d buttons).
If the signal corresponding to the xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d key is detected, the tone triggered return transfer feature of the invention is invoked and the customer is transferred back to a directory assistance agent who can then provide whatever further assistance is needed (e.g., redialing a busy number, providing further directory assistance). By this arrangement, the press of a single button by the customer summons further directory assistance, rather than the redialing procedure required by the prior art.
The problems associated with providing directory assistance services to wireless and mobile (collectively termed xe2x80x9cwirelessxe2x80x9d in this application) customers are not limited to hardships on the customers; the directory assistance service and the wireless carrier also confront unique issues. In some systems, for example, the wireless carrier (which is typically responsible for billing of the customer) knows only that the customer has dialed a directory assistance agent, but does not know the number to which the customer is ultimately connected by the agent. Billing is thereby complicated. In such systems, the toll charges (assuming toll calls are permitted; often they are not) for the connection between the customer and the desired number are simply absorbed by the directory assistance service, and recouped by billing the wireless carrier a sufficiently large flat rate charge for each directory assistance call so as to cover these costs. The wireless carrier then bills the subscriber a fixed amount for each directory assistance inquiry, regardless of the toll charges of any further connection established for the customer by the directory assistance operator. This arrangement, however, has a number of disadvantages. In addition to increased cost, it also fails to provide the wireless carrier useful information about its customers"" calling patterns, which may affect decisions relating to system expansion, etc.
Present embodiments of the invention described herein address the billing difficulties associated with completion of customer calls by directory assistance agents. According to these embodiments, the directory assistance service logs in a billing database information identifying the customer (i.e. the customer identification number accompanying the call from the wireless provider), the destination number to which the customer is connected, and the date, time and duration of the customer/destination number connection. This information is periodically provided to the wireless carrier, allowing it to bill the customer for the call connected by the directory assistance operator and recoup the associated expense. This permits the flat rate charged by the directory assistance agent to be reduced correspondingly, and provides the wireless service with more detailed information about its customers"" usage requirements.
In other embodiments of the invention, directional assistance is provided to a telephone user. In one embodiment, a caller using a wireless telephone connects through a wireless switching office to a directory assistance center and a directory assistance agent, (e.g., an operator or a voice response unit (xe2x80x9cVRUxe2x80x9d)) and specifies a desired destination. The caller""s present location or the origination of the caller""s desired travel is determined and the user identifies any special criteria for the trip, such as an aspiration to visit an historical landmark en route to the specified destination, a desire to take the most direct or most expeditious route, a desire to travel via railway or boat, etc. A routing algorithm determines an appropriate route from the caller""s present position to the destination location, illustratively by referencing a database containing maps, transportation routes, construction information, etc. Before and during the travel, the route may be modified as necessary by a directory assistance agent or the routing algorithm to meet other travel criteria of the caller or to avoid traffic delays, construction, hazards, etc.
Depending on the length or complexity of the chosen route, it may be divided into multiple segments, with directions being provided for each segment as the caller proceeds along the route. The selected route is saved on a data server for later retrieval. The caller""s travel route and criteria could, of course, be stored in another location that is equally accessible (e.g., a switch host computer or communication server). A placekeeper, which indicates the segment being travelled by the caller, is stored with the route and is updated as directions are provided.
The caller may remain connected to the directory assistance center for the duration of the trip or disconnect and reconnect as necessary or as desired. If the caller chooses to remain connected to the directory assistance center, he or she merely presses a predetermined key (possibly the xe2x80x9c*xe2x80x9d key) in accordance with a tone triggered return transfer feature of the invention to signal an operator or other directory assistance agent that he or she is ready to receive directions for the next segment of the route. Upon activation of the tone triggered return transfer feature, the caller may be returned to an agent different than the previous directory assistance agent. The placekeeper is thus retrieved with the route in order to inform other agents of a caller""s travel status.
If the caller decides to disconnect while travelling a segment, he or she simply reconnects to the directory assistance center and a directory assistance agent when ready for the next segment of directions. To help make the provision of directions seamless in this connection/reconnection scenario, the stored route data also includes the caller""s ANI (Automatic Number Identification), MIN (Mobile Identification Number), or a traveller identification number that is assigned to the caller. The switch host computer is illustratively configured such that when the caller reconnects, his or her ANI or MIN is automatically compared to those of travelling subscribers. If a match is found, then, when the call is transferred to an available directory assistance agent, the travel record is also passed. If a traveller identification number is assigned to the caller, he or she may provide this to the directory assistance agent that answers the reconnection, may enter the number via the caller""s telephone keypad, or may speak the number for detection by a voice decoder.
Depending upon the distance travelled by the caller, his or her call(s) for directional assistance may be handed off to subsequent wireless switching offices and/or directory assistance centers.
The chosen directions are provided to the caller in any of several formats. In one embodiment, one or more directory assistance agents voice, in turn, the directions for each segment. The directions could, however, be sent to the user via such conduits as e-mail or facsimile. In other embodiments, directions are provided to travelling callers via pager, personal data assistants (xe2x80x9cPDAxe2x80x9d), or a wireless telephone that is equipped with a PDA. Other useful methods of providing the directions include voicing each segment""s directions by a VRU, forwarding the directions in voicemail, or sending an SMS (Short Messaging Service) message via PCS (Personal Communication Services) equipment, small computer, etc.
Depending upon the device used by the caller to receive directions, the entire route may be transmitted all at once, and stored on the device, or may be transmitted in multiple segments. The device may also allow the caller to switch between different segments of the route depending upon how they are provided to him or her and how they are stored.